I Love You, Forever
by Lentimental
Summary: "Please, come back…" he whispered, his voice cracking. He killed him. He killed the one he loved most in the world.


_Red. All he could see was red. His hands, the floor, the body that lay before him- all of it stained red._

"_Wake up!" He pleaded. Shaking the lifeless body, he desperately tried to revive it. "Stop messing around and wake up!" He could feel his hands shaking; he was terrified. "You have to wake up… I can't lose you…" Holding the body in a tight embrace, he wept into its bloodied neck._

_He remembered the terrified look in the other's eyes. Remembered how the other begged him to stop. Remembered the feeling of hands pushing and punching at him get weaker and weaker until they stopped altogether._

_He did this. He did this and there was nothing he could do to fix it._

"_Please, come back…" he whispered, his voice cracking._

_He killed him._

_He killed the one he loved most in the world._

Ranmaru's eyes snapped open and he quickly sat up in bed. He had to take a moment to regain his bearings and take in his surroundings. It was morning and he was in his room. Syo stood at his bedside and his roommates were gone. Right, they had practice this morning. He lay back down in bed and closed his eyes again. He could relax for just a few more minutes….

Wait.

Sitting up quickly once more, he looked over at the short blond that was still standing beside him. "Syo?"

"Er… Good morning…" Syo's face was slightly pink, looking as if he had just been caught doing something he shouldn't have been.

"What are you doing here?" Ranmaru swung his legs over the side of the bed, tilting his head from side to side a few times to crack his stiff neck. He then casually wiped at his moist forehead, acting as if he hadn't just woken up from a nightmare.

"Reiji-senpai sent me to wake you up…" He admitted, using a hand to scratch the back of his head nervously.

"Sounds like something he'd do," Ranmaru muttered. Taking a deep breath and getting himself up off of the bed, towering over the small blond as he did so. He watched as Syo took a few steps back so that he wasn't in his personal space. Not that he'd mind, though…

The truth was, Ranmaru held quite a brightly lit candle for the small blond. He had for years- or rather, centuries. However, no one knew it. The life of a vampire was a long one and though eternal life sounded great, it came at a price.

Since the day he had been turned, he had seen many reincarnations of Syo. No matter where they were in the world, Ranmaru would run into him at some point. It was as if they were connected by fate- or maybe it was a curse.

Ranmaru thought the latter. Every reincarnation he met never remembered him. They always were able to be reacquainted but… sometimes the blond would be in a relationship with someone else. He never wanted to get in the way of Syo's happiness, so he'd stay on the sidelines and convince himself that just being by his side was enough.

But it hurt. It hurt seeing the one he loves with someone else.

But what hurt even more was seeing him die. Repeatedly.

Syo never lived a life fully. He always died young. Whether he was taken by sickness such as the plague or if he was murdered, it didn't matter. Death always came eventually.

Seeing the one you love die constantly? There were only so many times an immortal being could handle seeing it happen before it began to emotionally take a toll. As if the first time wasn't enough.

Ah… That first time would forever plague Ranmaru with guilt.

They were young. Restless. Despite countless warnings from their parents to not go out at night, they didn't listen. They snuck out at night just to see each other. It was one of the only times they could be together without eyes looking at them with disgust. Back in the day, liking someone of the same gender was considered practically taboo.

It was then- on his way to see Syo- that Ranmaru encountered that strange woman. "My, you're quite the Iooker, aren't you?" She had said to him, a devious grin on her face. Ranmaru had ignored her, used to being hit on by that point. Though as he walked past her and had his back to her, he had felt hands on him. They held him in place firmly as he felt a sharp pain in his neck.

Most of what happened after that was a muddled blur. Any time he tried to remember what else happened with that woman, it was like trying to see the bottom of a murky lake.

He did, however, remember Syo. How or when he had arrived at their meeting place, Ranmaru couldn't say. But he recalled that he was thirsty. His mouth had felt like he wandered through a desert without water and before he knew what he was doing, the air was filled with screams. Syo's screams. And Ranmaru's hands were painted with his beloved's blood.

Ranmaru remembered that point in time so vividly that even after all of the years he had been alive, he could recall every single detail as if it had happened not one day previous. It would forever haunt him and he didn't think he'd ever be able to forgive himself.

"Ranmaru…?" Syo spoke his name a little loudly, waving a hand in front of the vampire's face. This snapped him out of his absent-mindedness, directing his silver eyes to focus on the small blond before him. "Are you still sleepy? You spaced out really hard. I've been calling your name for like, five minutes now."

Ranmaru shook his head and made a show of rubbing his eyes. "No, no, I'm good. Sorry about that."

Syo furrowed his brows. "Alright, if you say so…" He turned and walked over to the door, placing a hand on the knob before looking back at Ranmaru. "Everyone's about to split to do their own thing. What are you gonna do?"

Ranmaru pondered this question for a moment. "I don't know, what are you going to do?"

"I was thinking about just relaxing today. Maybe go for a walk around the park or window shop. Take a break from practice and stuff."

"Sounds good. I'll come with you."

Syo blinked a few times, his cheeks flushing a light pink. "You'll… come with… me?" He asked, clearly surprised that Ranmaru wanted to spend the day with him.

"Yeah, why? Do you not want me to?"

Syo was quick to reply. "No, no! It's not that!" Realizing that he raised his voice a bit, he cleared his throat. "I mean… I don't mind it." Averting his eyes nervously, he opened the door. "I-I'll wait for you in front of the building, then. Take your time getting ready, though. I'm in no rush…" He said, walking out and shutting the door behind him.

It didn't take Ranmaru long to get ready. He simply put on some clothes and brushed his teeth. He figured that he could find something to eat while he was out, so he made his way down the hallways to where Syo said he'd wait for him.

Before he could get there though, Natsuki came up beside him. "Hey Maru, is it true you're going out with Syo today?"

"Yeah, why?" Ranmaru replied, not bothering to look at the slightly taller male that walked beside him.

"Oh, good! So you finally realized Syo-chan's feelings for you? Who asked who out first?" Natsuki asked excitedly.

This made Ranmaru stop in his tracks to look at the taller blond. "Wait, what?"

"Who asked who out first?" Natsuki tilted his head questioningly.

"No, no, back up. Syo has feelings for me?"

"Yeah, he's liked you for a really long time. You know this." Natsuki furrowed his brows before realization hit him. "You didn't know this. Uh oh…"

"I thought he liked you. Or Otoya, maybe."

Natsuki simply shook his head. He already spilled the beans, so there was no point in trying to avoid the conversation. "Syo's been there for me since we were kids. If anything, he's my best friend. As for Otoya, they are close yes, but they aren't dating. I've known Syo for a long time. I'm certain he has a crush on you."

"That's um…" Ranmaru was at a loss for words. One thing was for sure, though. He was ecstatic. There was no one to get in the way of things this time around.

"Please don't tell Syo," Natsuki pleaded. "I wasn't supposed to say anything but I thought since you two were going out today-"

Ranmaru cut him off. "It's fine, Natsuki. You didn't do anything bad."

Natsuki looked rather relieved. "Does that mean you…?"

The underlying question made Ranmaru look away. "Yeah, maybe I like him a little…" More like a lot.

Natsuki's eyes sparkled. "You do?! That's great!"

"Yeah, yeah, quiet down, will you? I still need to tell Syo myself."

"Oh boy, I'm so excited! I'm happy for you two!" Natsuki giggled a little. "Good luck! Tell me about it when you get back!"

The whole day, Ranmaru couldn't keep his eyes off of Syo. Now that he was really paying attention, he could tell. The way Syo would sometimes stutter or how he would blush at some small things Ranmaru would say. The way he seemed to try and find the right things to talk about so he wouldn't embarrass himself. The way he spoke and his mannerisms in general just screamed that he was crushing hard.

_I can't believe I missed this,_ Ranmaru thought to himself. With all the times he had spent watching the small blond from a distance, he never thought to put two and two together. You'd think that maybe after all of the times they'd been together in previous lives, Ranmaru would know Syo like the back of his hand. Apparently, he was still learning.

The two were currently sitting on a bench in an empty park, each holding a crepe of their own. Ranmaru sat in silence, just listening to Syo ramble on about a new song Haruka had put together for him. "And then she-" Syo stopped talking suddenly. "Sorry, I'm just blathering on endlessly. I'm probably boring you."

"It's fine," It's true that Ranmaru wasn't all that interested in listening to Syo talk about Haruka, but he was still passionate about the things he talked about and he loved it. "I enjoy hearing your voice." Taking a sidelong glance at Syo, Ranmaru chuckled. There's that blush again.

"I uh… Er… You…" Syo stuttered. He didn't know what to say in response to that.

Ranmaru picked a banana slice from his crepe and held it toward Syo's mouth. "Hey Syo, there's something I want to tell you. And before you think what I say is nonsense, I assure you it's the truth."

Eating the banana slice offered to him, Syo's brows furrowed questioningly. "Alright…"

Turning his whole body to face the other, Ranmaru rested a leg on the bench. "Don't freak out either but… I'm a vampire."

The look on Syo's face changed at least three times. First, like he was going to laugh about how ridiculous it sounded but also remembered that Ranmaru told him he was being truthful. Next, he looked nervous. If Ranmaru was telling the truth, then he was a really dangerous being. Last, he had a mix of curiosity and confusion. "But why are you telling me this? Isn't this the part where you're supposed to drink my blood and kill me in the process?"

Ranmaru couldn't help but laugh at the fact that Syo sounded like he believed him and didn't run for his life. "No, no, I'm not going to do that. In fact, I haven't drank blood in a long time. And if I do, I steal some from blood banks."

Syo squinted his eyes, looking like he was trying to process the information coming at him. "But don't you have to drink blood to live?"

"Technically, no. That's actually why I sleep at night. The rest that my body gets helps me resist the urge to drink."

"Okay but… Sunlight? Aren't you supposed to burn? Turn to ash? We've been out walking around in the sun all day."

"False. Sunlight is just… Extremely annoying." Ranmaru tapped the sunglasses that rested on top of his head. "That's what these are for."

"Garlic? Crosses?" At this point, Syo was grasping at straws.

"Crosses make me feel a little uneasy when near them and garlic has a really strong scent but… They really don't do much to me."

Syo took small bites of his strawberry crepe, going silent for a moment. "But that brings us back to my first question. Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I love you," Ranmaru blurted out truthfully.

This made Syo drop his crepe on the floor and choke on the food he was in the process of swallowing. "Y-you what…?" He coughed a little, clearing his throat of the rest of the crepe.

"I love you," Ranmaru repeated, scooting a little closer to the blond. "I'll say it as many times as you'd like me to, because it'll never stop being true. I've loved you for… Practically my whole life… And before you ask, I've lived for millenia."

Syo was at a loss for words. Every time he opened his mouth to say something, nothing came out. It took him a few minutes of mimicking a fish before anything came out of him. "What uh… What do you mean?" The 'millenia' part had him confused.

"You've been reincarnated," Ranmaru explained. "It's happened quite a few times, actually. You always died young."

"I died?!" Syo was reeling at this newfound information. "Wait, if I always die young then won't it happen again soon?"

"I sure hope not. Having to watch you die constantly is painful."

"You watched me die…?" Syo could only imagine how bad that must feel and how much it could potentially weigh on the mind. "But… Why didn't you just turn me? You wouldn't have to see me die, then."

"I didn't want to subject you to a life like this. It's… Terrible. When you first turn you're just bloodthirsty. You have no sense of reasoning. No right or wrong passes through your mind until your first kill…" Ranmaru's voice became softer the more he talked. It was laced with regret and Syo didn't let that slip by him.

"Who was your first kill?" He asked softly.

It took Ranmaru a minute to respond. And when he did, he couldn't look Syo in the eyes. "You."

Syo was taken aback. Even so, he scooted himself closer to Ranmaru and took one of his hands in his. "Did you love me when you killed me?" He asked softly.

"You were my world... You still are…" Ranmaru lifted Syo's hand to his lips, placing a soft kiss to his knuckles.

Syo blushed slightly at the exchange, but a small smile made its way onto his lips. "It wasn't your fault, but even so I forgive you." Syo tilted his head to look into Ranmaru's eyes. "I think you've suffered long enough. Only if you'd like, you have my permission to turn me when you see fit."

"But-"

Syo held a finger to Ranmaru's lips to hush him. "No buts. I know the consequences and I'm willing to go through them all if it means being by your side because I…" He swallowed thickly, building up his courage. "I love you."

Ranmaru chuckled. "I know." Ranmaru pulled Syo toward him and placed a tender, sweet kiss to the blond's soft lips. He embraced his small body tightly, the kisses slowly becoming more passionate.

He'd have a deeper discussion with Syo later about the repercussions of turning, but for now Ranmaru would not ruin this moment. Whether he decided to turn him or not, Ranmaru knew that Syo would stay safely in his heart. No matter how many years had to pass, Syo would forever be the only one for him.


End file.
